It is known to provide vehicle suspension systems that can be configured to attain a number of predetermined vehicle ride heights. These systems can be operable by way of one or more manual switches on a console of the vehicle and accessible from the driving position, such that a user can choose the most appropriate suspension setting for their style of driving or for the nature of the terrain the vehicle is traversing. Such suspension settings can include a Normal suspension ride height, an Off-Road suspension ride height and an Access height, for example.
In these known systems, often the option to adjust the suspension of the vehicle is only available to a user when they are seated in a driver's seat or a front passenger's seat of the vehicle, and the available vehicle ride heights are restricted to a number of pre-set ride heights. Some vehicles go part way to addressing such limitations and offer limited vehicle ride height adjustment functionality when the vehicle is parked and the user is positioned outside of the vehicle cabin.
The available vehicle ride heights in such systems often include a Normal height and a Loading height, and the user may opt to lower the vehicle ride height from the Normal height to the Loading height to increase the ease with which they can access the rear loadspace of the vehicle, for example. This functionality is limited, however, typically allowing the user to select only one of two pre-set vehicle ride heights, a ‘raise’ switch being used to access an upper ride height when the vehicle is positioned at a lower ride height, and a ‘lower’ switch being used to access the lower ride height when the vehicle is positioned at the upper ride height.
There remains a need to provide a vehicle suspension system with increased functionality and greater flexibility for the user. The present invention has been devised to mitigate or overcome at least some of the above-mentioned problems.